One of the feel-good stories of Daytona 500 qualifying was the fact that B.J. McLeod and his No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet managed to defy the odds and qualify for the "Great American Race", even if it came at the expense of Anthony Alfredo and his No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet as a result of a post-America 250 Florida Duel race technical infraction.
Since selling their charter after the 2023 season, Live Fast Motorsports had not successfully qualified for the season opener at Daytona International Speedway until this year.
Unfortunately, the joy was short-lived, as McLeod was the first driver to be knocked out in a wreck on race day. He and the No. 78 team returned for this past weekend's race at EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway), but they were knocked out of that one early as well.
After back-to-back crashes, McLeod won't compete at Circuit of the Americas (COTA).
B.J. McLeod, Live Fast Motorsports won't compete at COTA
The only other non-chartered (open) car that appeared in Sunday's overtime-extended 271-lap Autotrader 400 at the four-turn, 1.54-mile (2.478-kilometer) Hampton, Georgia oval was the No. 44 NY Racing Chevrolet, which was driven by J.J. Yeley after Yeley failed to qualify for the Daytona 500. He too was knocked out in a crash, albeit much later on, and he too will not compete at COTA.
There is only one open car on the entry list for Sunday's 95-lap DuraMAX Grand Prix around the 17-turn, 2.4-mile (3.862-kilometer) Austin, Texas road course, and that is the No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.
Reigning O'Reilly Auto Parts Series champion Jesse Love, who made the first five starts of his Cup Series career a year ago, is set to make his Cup Series road course debut in the No. 33 car this weekend, marking the car's first appearance of 2026.
As for Live Fast Motorsports, they don't currently have any confirmed plans to return throughout the rest of the 2026 season, but McLeod tends to drive the No. 78 Chevrolet in the superspeedway races at Daytona, Atlanta, and Talladega Superspeedway. A year ago, he also brought in Katherine Legge to run select races, specifically the road and street course races.
The DuraMAX Grand Prix is set to be shown live on Fox from COTA starting at 3:30 p.m. ET this Sunday, March 1. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and catch all of the action from the 2026 season's first non-oval event!